


Soft Words For The Broken

by androgynousclintbarton



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 18:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5795953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androgynousclintbarton/pseuds/androgynousclintbarton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick hates seeing Clint so down on himself and broken, and he wishes he could go after everyone who turned him into this scared but talented kid. for now, he'll have to settle for the boyfriend who gave Clint the purple shiner on his eye</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soft Words For The Broken

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mrsclintbaeton](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsclintbaeton/gifts).



> Tumblr Prompt: Things you said when you were Crying

                Gathering up a hand full of water from the tap in front of him, Clint splashed his face in an attempt to clean the dry blood off of his nose. “stupid, asshole, jerk.” He grumbled to himself. Looking into the mirror, he sighed when he saw a tint of purple on his left eye.

                “Honestly,” he whispered to himself, grabbing his go bag and starting to search for the cover up that he kept in it. “top tier agent, best shot in the world, sought out for over a year by SHIELD to work for them, and I still get a shiner from my idiot boyfriend.” Curling his fingers around the small bottle, he started to pull it out of the bag, only to have a hand wrap itself around his wrist and stop him.

                “To be honest, I don’t think that’s your colour” A shiver ran down Clint’s back as his eyes became fixated with the long, black fingers that held his wrist in a soft but first grasp. Beside him, Agent Fury took a step closer and used his free hand to tilt Clint’s head up so that he could get a better look at the black eye that was starting to take shape on Clint’s face. “Then again, Purple doesn’t seem to suit you as a skin colour either. I guess the cover up is a better option.”

                “Didn’t think I needed a second opinion on that one boss.” Ignoring the blonds snarky comment, Nick carefully pried the bottle of cover-up out of Clint’s hand, and started to open it. “Boss, i…I can put it on myself.” Clint could feel his face heating up as he spoke, watching as Nick undid the bottle with ease and pulled out the applicator brush.

                Without missing a beat, Nick reached out and started to apply the make-up with a steady hand, ignoring the shock that was etched across Clint’s face. “To answer your question, I don’t think you’re trying to defend yourself against the guy. A part of you is holding back for some reason.”

                Turning his eyes downwards, Clint pulled his lower lip between his teeth and nibbled at it nervously. He knew that Nick was right, but a part of him didn’t want to admit it. There was nothing fun about taking a fist to the face from someone who had 1/16th the training of anyone that Clint had faced before, but a part of him couldn’t find the strength to take his boyfriend down.

                “Stop being a sap kid. Just because your work life has gotten better doesn’t mean your love life follows suit by default.” Explained Nick, his eyes focused on his work with Clint’s cover up.

                “What the hell is that suppose to mean!?” snapped Clint. His eyes narrowed at the Agent in front of him with a glint of anger. “Richard is good to me! We go out for dates at the fanciest places he can find, he buys me gifts all the time…” when Nick raised a hand to silence him, Clint didn’t even notice the way that his whole body stiffened, or how he flinched at the movement and braced himself for a hit.

                “I’m not going to punch you Clint,” the older man said with a soft sight “and a fancy meal and pretty gifts don’t make up for a black eye. You need to stop making excuses for him and realize the situation you are in.”

                “Like I could do better…” upon hearing Clint’s comment, Nick pulled back the applicator from the younger mans face and put it away calmly. Once the make up was stored safely in his pocket, he reached back out towards Clint and cradled his chin in his hand.

                “Never, and I mean absolutely at no time in the rest of your life, say anything so idiotic and slanderous about yourself again. Especially a horrible lie like that,” Ordered Nick, his voice soft but firm. “I did not pick your bullet hole ridden body off of an ally way street just for you to think you’re not worth anything.”

                Clint blinked up at the older man in shock as tears welled up in his eyes and his entire body started to shake. He didn’t know why Nick even bothered with him some days when he would be better off paying attention to other Agents who could do more than him. Richard, Trick shot, his dad and all of the other people in his life were right about him. No matter how hard he tried, or what he did, he was always going to be the trash that no one else wanted. Having someone as gorgeous and energetic as Richard was probably the best he could hope for, and he certainly wasn’t stupid enough to think that Nick Fury would ever see him as more than the trash that he picked up off of the street that he was bleeding on.

                “Barton, you’re crying.” There was a look of confusion on Nick’s face as he spoke, and for a moment he was terrified. In the year that Clint had been with SHIELD he had been shown a rang of emotions that the kid could display. Rage, sass, caution, excitement, endearment, and joyfulness. Sadness. However, had never been an emotion that Clint displayed before, opting for anger or determined resistance instead, and to see the young man now in tears was a new and terrifying experience for Nick. He didn’t know how to approach Clint in a situation like this, and that was a new predicament for him. With most Agents he could be straight forward and honest, telling them their worth as both an Agent and human and knowing that they would listen to him. However, Clint was a touchy subject because of the abuse he had faced in his past, and the constant insult to not only his abilities, but also his value as a person. People like Clint’s father were the kind that Nick wished he could take the time off of work to hunt down and teach a lesson to, but the bastard had already done the job himself years ago and left behind a broken and cautious son.

                “Wh…what else am I suppose to do?” Clint’s question pulled Nick out of his thoughts abruptly, and he looked back down and watched as tears stained the blonds face. “I know you mean well Boss, and I know somewhere deep down you might actually believe what you’re saying, but I’ve been around long enough in this shitty world to know the truth. I know that Richard is the best a Carney hick like me can get and if it take’s a few black eyes to ensure that I never have to sleep alone again, then I’ll work on getting better with the cover up! I’m not hopeless enough to think that I have a chance with someone as kind and amazing as you.”

                Taking a step back and away from Clint, Nick looked at the younger man in shock from his words. He had never met a person who was so down on themselves, and it broke his heart to see. “That’s not true Clint…” his voice was soft as he spoke, and he kept his eyes on the blond. Thinking for a moment, he took a deep breath and reached out, pulling Clint close and hugging him against his chest. “look,” he lowered his voice and laid his head down on top of Clint’s, letting the blond strands of hair tickle his skin. “I don’t know your full history, so I may never understand why you view yourself as such trash, but I do know from the short time that I’ve gotten to know you in that it’s all wrong. You deserve more than that asshole could ever dream of giving you in that puny skull of his and no one should ever think that black eyes are a fair trade off for not being alone.” In his arms, Clint’s whole body vibrated as the younger man cried “you’re an amazing Agent Clint, but that’s not the only reason I wanted to recruit you. Among all of the damage that you did, and every single mission that you ruined for us, I saw a kid who was lost and confused. Who refused to have ‘collateral damage’ on his kill list and focused his skills on taking out drug lords, high ranked criminals and other assassins. I didn’t go looking for a criminal who needed a second chance Clint, I went to find a hero who was down on his luck.”

                “What am I suppose to do?” asked Clint in a weak voice, his words muffled by the fact that his face was pressed against Nick’s chest.

                “You let me take you to his place tonight so you can collect all of the things that you have there, and you make sure he knows that you never want to see him again.” Explained Nick.

                “I…I don’t think I can boss…” Cupping Clint’s face, Nick took a deep breath and pressed his lips against the younger mans forehead.

                “then I’ll make the message clear,” he promised tenderly “you’re done putting up with the abuse that others want to level on you, and you are worth more than anything that a lowlife like Richard could hope to have.”

                “you’re being nice Sir…”

                “Contrary to popular belief, this is not a rare occurrence,” using his thumb, Nick wiped away the tears on Clint’s face and smiled “and it may take some time, but I promise that one day you’ll see the young hero that I do, and a man who deserves all of the love and respect in the world.”

                “And if…if I don’t?” whispered Clint.

                “Just like Agent May won’t let you get by in life without proper hand to hand combat training, I won’t let you continue on thinking so low of yourself,” he used his free hand to push Clint’s hair back, smiling when the younger man practically purred at the touch. “I promise Clint. Your life is going to change in a lot of ways now that you’re with SHIELD. And you’re never going to have to sleep alone because there’s always going to be room at my place.”

                Clint smiled weakly at the sound of that, refusing to let go of Nick’s jacket while the older man continued to hold onto him.


End file.
